Circumstances
by MaryLouise1996
Summary: Luna's life is in tatters. She's lost her father, gone through a major break up and cut herself off from her friends. When a lucky gust of wind plants an idea in her mind, her life finally begins to piece itself back together. This is my first fanfiction, I hope you like it! Rated T for possible language/adult themes in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hi guys, this is my first fanfiction and I'm really excited about it. I've had this chapter written for over a month, but I haven't published it because I was waiting for a friend to read it over and give me feedback. Unfortunately she's a clutz and lost the copy I gave her, so I thought I'd just go ahead and post it. I hope you like it! ~MaryLouise1996**

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Circumstances

Chapter 1

Luna rolled over in bed and pulled the covers up further. She reached over to the other side of the bed, but it was empty. Of course it was empty. It had been for six months now. She sat up suddenly, frustrated. She was frustrated with herself, frustrated with the way her life was going. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, picked up her wand from her bedside table and summoned her slippers, which she had left by the sofa when she came to bed in the early hours. Pulling them onto her feet, she dragged herself out of her tiny bedroom and into the all-in-one living room, dining room and kitchen. It wasn't very big either, but the tiny one bedroom flat was all she could afford on her equally tiny salary. Even with her wages, she had to supplement it with the gold left to her by her father. And that was already beginning to look diminished. She could barely afford to eat, and yet she still worked her arse off every day of the freaking week, waitressing in a restaurant in Diagon Alley. She began to feel the tears well up behind her huge blue eyes again, and blinked furiously. Not again. She padded into the kitchen to take her mind off the way her life was turning out, and popped a piece of three-day old bread into the toaster. A fabulous muggle invention, toasted the bread just right, on both sides. Much easier than doing it by magic, especially now. She looked around her flat and took in all of the other eklectic appliances that it was fitted out with, seeing as it was a muggle residence (cheaper than anything owned by someone magical). There was something in the corner called an -um- a television, which was a big metal box with a glass face that moving pictures appeared on when you pressed the big button to turn it on. And you could control it from the sofa with the television wand (as she liked to call it), changing the picture and making it louder and quieter. Very clever, these muggles. They certainly knew how to make life easier for themselves, even without magic. The eklectic lights were certainly simple enough, especially since she could flick the switches by magic, and they didn't make her body feel drained like using the magic inside of her to keep lights on did. Using any magic at all made her feel drained these days. She told herself it was her wand; Mr. Ollivander had been frail when he had made her new one. But she knew that it wasn't. The wand had been as good as her old one; better even, until- No. She wouldn't let herself think about that. Not now. Not yet.

Luna shook the silvery hair that she had inherited from her mother off her shoulders as she spread jam over her toast – her mother's own special recipe – and walked over to the small, worn wooden table that was pushed right up against the wall, folding her frame into the single chair. Her long thin legs were paler than ever, seemingly glowing underneath her old pyjama shorts with golden stars actually sparkling from them. They were left over from when she was a child, and reminded her of the good times. Her spindly wrists poked out from the ends of the hugely oversized white-and-blue striped bed shirt that used to belong to her father, where she had rolled up the sleeves. The shirt dwarfed her entirely, almost covering the shorts that hung off her hips. She unrolled the Daily Prophet that she had bought earlier in the week, using the tips she earned at work. She didn't usually earn big tips, either because people thought her odd or because her service hadn't been great. She couldn't usually concentrate brilliantly, and it wasn't unknown for her to forget which tables she was serving and put plates down on the wrong table and walk away without realizing. She blinked down at the front page for the hundredth time that week and saw the familiar face attempting to duck behind his newspaper. The headline read "AMAZING MR. POTTER DOES IT AGAIN" and was accompanied by a driveling dialogue about exactly how long it took to catch the latest death eater, how much of a fight they put up, how many back-up aurors Harry took with him and what he ate for lunch the day before. As Luna saw his embarrassed face ducking behind the paper again and again, she felt a rush of warmth towards him, but it was quickly chased out by the dead weight that continued to sit on her heart. When was the last time she had spoken with him? Or any of them for that matter? She sighed. It was her own fault, and she knew it. After- after **it** had happened, she had refused contact with any of them, ignoring their owls, not going along when the whole lot of them met up, not trying to hold contact in any way. She couldn't. It was too painful. They had all tried, really hard, to keep in contact with her, but she'd pushed them all away. Even Ginny. After a few months they had all but given up, now only sending a half-hearted owl once every couple of months. The only person who still persisted in contacting her regularly was Mrs. Weasley, who sent an owl almost every Saturday, inviting her to lunch with them on Sunday. She never went, only feeling obliged to send a polite but neutral note back, refusing the invitation. Bless her though, Molly still hadn't given up.

A gust of wind flicking over the pages of the paper announced the arrival of an owl. Luna's huge, startled eyes snapped upwards to find a big tawny owl, with a round white face and sleek feathers, perched on the cooling device muggles called a 'fridge'. Her eyes softened at the sight of her friend's owl, and she slipped over to release the scroll of parchment from Hermione from the owl's leg. She tossed the letter over onto the table she had been sitting at and absentmindedly wandered over to re-open the window that had slammed shut after the owl's arrival. She looked expectantly over to the owl, and was surprised to see that, rather than fluffing up its feathers ready for flight, Hermione's owl had simply hopped over to the toaster and was attempting to catch some crumbs in its beak. Luna heaved a sigh and picked up her old friend's letter. She had a feeling that it would explain the owl's strange behavior.

_"Luna, I have no doubt that you have no intention of replying to this letter, but if you would at least hear out what we have to say I think you may change your mind. I hope you will change your mind. The last couple of years has been challenging, to say the least, for all of us, and while I know that some have undoubtedly taken it worse than others I don't believe the distance that you have been attempting to place between yourself and the people who care about you can be doing you any more good than the worry it is causing us."_

The writing was entirely word perfect, and had clearly been drafted several times in order to get it that way before being sent.

_"I honestly don't go a day without thinking about you, none of us do, and the only reason that we know you're even still alive are the empty messages that you send Molly, refusing her now desperate invitations to lunch. We __**need **__to hear from you Luna, the real you, not the blank messages and the serene face. We need to be able to help you. You have refused to speak for us for six whole months now, and it's gone on long enough. I know the break up was hard on you, but your silence has been even harder on us. Especially Ginny. The end of the War was supposed to bring everyone closer, bridge the gaps put there by the evil, but within our friends and family it has only served to push us further apart._

_ "We miss you, Luna. We miss your boldness and your quirky nature and your ramblings about crumple-horned snorkacks. But mostly, we miss you, and we need you back in our lives. Please, please think about it."_

Luna's eyes because misty and she quickly wiped her impatient, shaking hand across them. As she read the final sentence of Hermione's letter, she smiled slightly (only slightly) at the fact that she had been right to think that it would explain the owl's unusual behavior:

_"I have told Flamel, my owl, not to leave without a reply from you. _

_All my love, Hermione."_

Luna heaved sigh that was so big it was a miracle that it didn't break her frail body into a thousand pieces. She knew Hermione was right, but that didn't make it any easier to read the cold harsh truth like that. It seemed right that it should come from Hermione. After all, Luna had been the one to pull her out of the deep depression in the months after the War that had threatened to engulf her. No one, not even Ron, had been able to get through to her, but for some reason Luna, with her understanding eyes and ability to say what everyone else had been thinking, had caught Hermione's attention and given her something to grasp hold of and get herself better. Why, why had Hermione had to mention it? "The break up." Like it was some huge, major event. Which it was, obviously, but only to Luna. She sighed and rummaged in the drawer of her old, heavily spellotaped chest and sifted out a handsome eagle quill from times gone by and a piece of parchment. The parchment was old and had marks on it here and there, but she cleaned it up, siphoning off the dirt with a quick "scourgify". She walked past her threadbare couch, picked up her crusts and dropped them in front of the owl – Flamel, as he was called. As she walked back past the paper on the table, an advert on one of the back pages that the paper had opened to as the owl flew past caught her eye. It was for a cheap wizarding travel company, specializing in world tours. Luna grinned as an idea formed in her head, and moving the newspaper off the small, worn table, she dipped her quill in the pot of purple ink that she kept on it and started to write her note back to Hermione.

_"Hermione, It was so lovely to hear from you, but I can assure you that I am perfectly brilliant. I have recently been victim to a particularly nasty infestation of Wrackspurt, and as a result have been rather distracted lately. I do hope you can forgive my rudeness._

_ "Another reason for my absence has been in that I have been working very long shifts in order to save enough money for a world tour. I plan to visit Sweden especially, to search again for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, but also plan to visit sites of particular magical importance, something I am sure you would be most interested in. I think you will agree that a trip away from here is something I most certainly need, if only to escape this thoroughly irritating Wrackspurt infestation. _

_ "All your love sent back, as I am sure you must need it, Luna."_

She attached the note to Flamel and watched him fly away, carrying the little note of purple lies with him. She groaned at her own inability to face her problems, turned away and got changed for work. Staring into the tiny mirror in her small bathroom, she fixed her normal airy expression onto her face, the one that had been there without question until that fateful day. This face was the face she knew, that face she wanted back, rather than the tired, sad, empty expression that she caught herself with so often when she woke up in the morning. She struggled into her coat, turning up her collar against the cold wind that she knew would soon greet her, and turned on the spot on her doormat to apparate to the restaurant that she would spend the rest of the day waiting on tables, being shouted at for not waiting on the right tables, and spilling drinks behind the bar. With a faint pop, she disappeared.

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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N ****Hi guys! Thank you for the lovely reviews, they mean the world to me :3 I'm so glad people enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!  
~MaryLouise1996**

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Circumstances

Last time: She struggled into her coat, turning up her collar against the cold wind that she knew would soon greet her, and turned on the spot on her doormat to apparate to the restaurant that she would spend the rest of the day waiting on tables, being shouted at for not waiting on the right tables, and spilling drinks behind the bar. With a faint pop, she disappeared.

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Chapter 2

She had only meant to tell Hermione about going on the world tour advertised in the Daily Prophet as a way of getting her off her back, distracting her, but the more Luna thought about it, the more the idea began to really, really appeal to her. Look at the state she was in. She had no money, hated her job, had pushed all her friends away from her and was so distracted and depressed in her own mind that she couldn't even perform the simplest spell to her own satisfaction. What harm would it do to get away from it all? She looked at the advert in the paper for the thousandth time. She could just afford it, if she worked her arse off and smiled every day and night for the next month and allowed herself no luxuries, just the dead basics. This would allow her a distraction, something to aim at for the next month. Yes, it would be quite literally all of her money, but she could just do a little work here and there, to get herself through the trip. It wouldn't take much. Everyone knew things were dirt cheap abroad anyway. One week's rent here would be enough to live on for a year in Egypt (where she planned to go, to see the amazing wizarding work of the pyramids). Actually, that was a point. What if she was able to move out of her flat, in with a friend for just a month or so? She'd have to still have friends for that. But with a distraction, it couldn't be very hard at all to meet up with everyone and pretend everything was great. Maybe everything **was **great, maybe it was all beginning to come together? It was about time.

Just like that, Luna's life did begin to come together. For the first time in what seemed like years, she fished out her butterbeer cap necklace to wear to work. She couldn't find her radish earrings to pair it with, but it took much less work to keep her expression light and airy and the dark purple smudges beneath her eyes began to fade. She found her smile came easier, and she laughed more often. She began to feel like herself again. It worked wonders for her at work as well. Suddenly, she became an expert at waitressing. She delivered the food to the correct table, never got an order wrong, and stopped spilling the drinks. And the smile that came so much more easily earned her mountains of tips. At this rate, she would be able to afford to go away in two weeks instead of four. The positivity that exploded from her earned her more than one wolf-whistle in her short walk one evening to treat herself to some new parchment, but she didn't even hear them. She could only think of the things she planned to do on her trip. She did indeed plan to spend a large portion of her time in Sweden looking for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, but she also wanted to visit France – Rouen in particular, where Joan of Arc is believed to have been burned at the stake (in reality she merely cast a fire-freezing spell about herself, screamed a bit and pretended to be dead before escaping from her 'burial site' to continue her life under a different name), and Tutankhamun's pyramid to pay tribute to the famous wizard. There were so many places that she wished to visit, she couldn't wait to tell everyone about her plans! She stopped short in the middle of the street, and a small man under a heavy cloak walked straight into her. She called out "Sorry!" to him as he trudged away, grumbling profusely. She thought about what she had just been contemplating. She _would_ tell the others, she was strong enough to face them now. The next time she received an invitation to lunch from Molly, she would accept. She smiled to herself, imagining the startled look on Molly's face when she read the reply. She felt a trickle of cold apprehension, but pushed it to the side to allow room for the feeling of excitement that was threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn't wait to see everyone! Talk with them about what they've been doing, how their jobs are going. She hoped Harry would be there, and Ron, and of course Ginny… She missed Ginny. They had grown so close in their sixth year, what with fighting the Carrows and running the DA. When she had been snatched off the train, her first thoughts had been of Ginny. Was she ok? They had been best friends, closer than family. They had had to be, with everything being thrown their way.

Luna scurried out of the approaching darkness into Flourish and Blotts and chose some crisp parchment, handing over the 9 silver sickles needed to pay for it. She thought about how her father had once taught her about muggle money, and calculated quickly in her clever mind that this must equal roughly £2.61. There was a reason that she had been placed in Ravenclaw. Her father had been so knowledgeable about so many things, despite being ridiculed by most of the wizarding community. His suicide had been a huge blow for her. His note had, among numerous other things, told her that he was incredibly proud of her and all the she had accomplished and gotten through. He wished that he had the strength that she had, to get over the soul crushing guilt that he felt. She had heard recounts of the day, the day that her father had nearly handed Harry Potter over to the death eaters. Hermione's fast thinking had been the thing that had saved her father from death, allowing the death eaters to glimpse Harry's face before disapparating, but it hadn't saved him for extreme torture at their furious hands, worse than even she had encountered during her own kidnap. He had never been quite the same after that day, and never escaped the feeling of extreme guilt.

Luna sighed. She knew that her father would no longer be proud of her, of how she had cut herself off. She shook her shoulders back and forth, as though trying to physically shake away the shame that was threatening to overshadow her newly found excitement for life. She quickly disapparated, and when she arrived home she found something to completely take her mind off it. Perched on the tap was an old owl, bedraggled from its journey. The owl belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Luna knew. Her heart leapt. This was her chance. She knew what the note would say:

_Luna dear,_

_We do hope you will come to lunch this Sunday, it has been so very long since we have seen you. _

_Yours truly, Molly._

Luna scrabbled in her bag for her new parchment and snatched up a quill. She had to reply before she lost her nerve. She was actually going to do this. She was going to go to lunch, and she was going to see all the people who she had shut out of her life. And, most importantly, she was actually looking forward to it. She wasn't dreading it, and she wasn't cracking up with nerves. She was looking forward to it. She hadn't looked forward to anything (except her upcoming trip) for a long time.

_Mrs. Weasley, _

_Thank you very much for your kind invitation to lunch. I am sure this will come as a surprise to you, but I would very much like to come to lunch this Sunday. I haven't seen you in a very long time and I am sorry for it. Would you like me to bring dessert? I have a lovely recipe for a muggle trifle, left to me by my mother._

_Sincerely, Luna._

She folded the parchment and turned to look at the owl, but it was clearly not in any state to make the journey back to the Burrow. She caught it just before it fell off the tap into the water left in the sink from the washing up that morning. It was really in a sorry state. She bundled it into her old owl cage and shut the door to prevent it from doing any harm to itself, before giving it a handful of breadcrumbs. She then fished out an ancient potions book and flicked through it until she found something that might help. It was a simple enough potion that would instill a feeling of youth and restfulness in any creature that took it. It was only temporary, but it would last until Errol reached home. Gathering together the ingredients that she would need, she brought her mother's old cauldron out of the cupboard and began work on the potion. While it quietly brewed on her table, she added to the end of the note:

_P.S. I hope you don't mind, but I fed Errol some Youthrest Potion to ensure he would arrive home safely. He seemed quite tired when he got here._

Luna stood outside the gate to The Burrow, staring at the ramshackle little house that held so many memories. Her hands trembled and she fought to still them to prevent the trifle she was holding cascading to the floor. She had stayed up all night making it, and she had to admit, it had turned out pretty good, but it was threatening to turn into a puddle of shmush on the floor if she didn't get a grip! She couldn't do this. She could turn around now, leave, forget about it all and put the trifle in the bin on the way home. It would be easier that way.

"Luna!" A familiar voice sounded behind her, further down the lane. She turned around and saw Harry Potter striding towards her with a big grin on his face. "I can't believe it's you!" As he reached her, he deftly took the trifle from her and pulled her into a strong one-armed hug. He seemed happier than she had ever known him. "You seem cheerful!" she told him as he released her. He turned a delicate shade of pink and ruffled his hair with his free hand. "Yes, well… uhh… things are, um, pretty good right now." He offered her an embarrassed smile. She laughed, realizing she'd touched on a sensitive area, and after a beat Harry chuckled with her. Luna's spirits soared. "Let's deliver this to Molly." Harry said as they finished laughing together. As if on cue, Molly appeared at the garden gate looking curious. Her face lit up as she spied Luna and she bustled through the gateway to deliver a particularly smothering hug. "Come in, come in!" she beamed, "Everyone's already here, you and Harry are the last to arrive." "Oh dear." Luna frowned. "Am I late? I thought I was on time, perhaps my watch is sl-" "No, no dear!" Molly cut in, "No, everyone arrived early to help me cook the meal and clean the house. There's nothing for you to worry about." With that, she turned from them and walked briskly back to the house. Luna fell into step behind Harry and they walked in an amicable silence through the large, overgrown garden to the house. Luna peered into the bushes, searching for any traces of the gnomes that once bit her.

As they entered through the kitchen door of the Burrow, someone squealed loudly and Luna was hit by a fiery redhead diving in for a hug. Ginny knocked the wind out of her, and they both tumbled to the ground where they both dissolved into giggles. Ron and Harry looked down at them with bemused expressions as Luna and Ginny both lay there on the floor, hugging and laughing like they would never stop. When Mrs. Weasley called through telling them that lunch was ready they helped each other up, hugged again and went through into the little kitchen.

Luna gasped as she took in all of the faces in front of her. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, George, Bill, Fleur, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Dean, Cho; they had all come to lunch, and Luna suspected that it was for her. They were all smiling at her expectantly, like they expected some sort of speech. Luna felt her face warm up and pulled a funny face before smiling fondly. "Hi guys!" was all she said, but it seemed to be enough. At once everyone started chattering away and helping themselves to food (which was plentiful thanks to Molly's fine cooking). Ginny had already seated herself and waved at Luna. "Come and sit down, you just have to try mum's Yorkshire puddings!" Luna moved to the seat which Ginny was indicating and sank down onto the soft cushions. She piled her plate high with mouth-watering roast and tucked in. Succulent chicken soaked in gravy, fluffy roast potatoes, piles of carrots and green beans, stuffing that seemed to melt in your mouth.

She'd been eating steadily for a few minutes before she noticed Ginny staring at her with a bemused look on her face. "S'up, dude?" Luna used the greeting they had used for each other throughout their 6th year. Ginny giggled politely, before replacing her expression with a look of concern. "How are you? Really?" Luna looked around to see who else was listening, but they were all absorbed in their own conversations. "I'm better." She said simply. There was no point lying to Ginny. Ginny looked sympathetic. "We could have helped, you know." "Oh yes, I know that now. It's just rather hard to see sometimes." "Is it true then? Are you going travelling?" Luna grinned wickedly. "Well, I was just lying to get Hermione off my back, but then, you see, I really thought about it. And I realized that it's probably the best thing for me. So the answer is yes, yes I am!" Ginny's eyes widened. "Oh, wow! That's great! Where are you going?" "Oh, everywhere! Sweden, France, Egypt… I can't wait, it's going to be amazing." Luna's face lit up as she carried on chattering away about her plans.

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**** Sorry for the long gap in updating, I was struck by a severe case of writer's block :(**

**This chapter is slightly shorter, but I think that it's useful for a bit of background that is definitely necessary for the story! I hope you enjoy it! ~MaryLouise1996**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that you recognise! Anything that you recognise truely belongs to Queen Rowling :')**

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Circumstances

Last time: "Oh, everywhere! Sweden, France, Egypt… I can't wait, it's going to be amazing." Luna's face lit up as she carried on chattering away about her plans.

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Chapter 3

Luna lay in bed remembering the day's events. She had been talking with Ginny about her travel plans for at least ten minutes before she realized that everyone else was listening too.

_"So you really are going then? I thought you were covering up!" Hermione looked surprised. Luna smiled. "Well, honestly, I was covering up. But then I just kept thinking about it and realized that it was exactly what I needed!" "Well I think that it's great." remarked Harry. "We all know how long you've been locking yourself away for." Luna raised her eyebrows. "Come on! What do you expect? I am an auror. I have my ways." Harry wriggled his own eyebrows back at her. "His point is," said Cho, "that you need to get out of here, find yourself again. God only knows it's taken long enough for you to realize it!" "Yeah, totally." Dean nodded. "We've all been trying to get through to you for so long." He grasped Cho's hand above the table. Luna face started turning red as the conversation turned to her own ignorance of her friends but Molly stepped in. "Well, what's in the past is in the past. I just want to hear more about your travels, dear!"_

As Luna stepped into the bathroom to take a shower before work, she stopped as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. He skin was glowing like it had before the war, her frown lines had disappeared and her eyes had less of the haunted look that always stuck fast behind the glassiness she forced on them. She couldn't believe the difference that one lunch with her friends could have.

As the scalding water hammered down onto her head, Luna's mind drifted to the conversation she had had with Ginny as they walked down the garden to visit Fred's memorial tree. _"Do you remember?" _Ginny had asked. _"Remember what?" _had been her reply. _"The first time you kissed."_ Luna felt sadness wash over her and lost herself in the memory.

_It was the first Christmas after the end of the Great War and everyone was in high spirits. They had all been invited to Lee Jordan's Christmas eve do, which was bound to be fun, and were just preparing to leave Ginny's small apartment in London to walk to Lee's, which was on the next street. "Oh!" Ginny dashed into the kitchen and appeared moments later with a large sprig of mistletoe. "I thought it might be fun." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "It certainly will be fun!" Luna laughed, her eyes sparkling. "I agree." Harry swept Ginny into a shameless embrace, kissing her sweetly. "Watch out for nargles! They can bite!" called Luna, causing them to giggle and break apart. "Actually, I think I see one." Luna darted towards Neville, rose onto her toes and kissed him soundly on the lips. He looked startled, before relaxing into it. Everyone stared at them. "Nargle on his lip…" Luna mumbled as they broke apart, looking flushed. Neville just turned red._

Tears mingled with water on Luna's face. She was allowing herself to remember for the first time.

_Diagon Alley was decorated with red and pink hearts, little flying cherubs flew after red faced witches and wizards as they weaved through the crowd and Sugarplum's Sweet Shop was handing out little chocolate hearts wrapped in red foil that turned into moving chocolate swans on your tongue. Valentine's Day had well and truly arrived. Luna and Neville ducked through the crowds hand in hand until they reached Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. As they passed through the door a sickeningly sweet scent reached their noses and they turned and looked at the stand by the door that was selling perfume. It claimed to make any boy fall in love with you at first sniff. Luna snorted. "Do I need to buy some of that?" she asked, eyes twinkling. Neville smiled down at her adoringly. "Nope. You've well and truly caught me."_

Hiccupping, Luna sat down and leant against the wall. The shower beat down on her head.

_The sun shone down from the blue sky as Luna led Neville through a field of long, waving grass blindfolded. "How much further is it, Lune?" Neville asked with laughter in his voice. "Oh dear." Luna muttered. "No, this is no good at all. The Quibbler said there would be signs of Botwiernues by now… Neville, hold tight a second." Saying that she turned on the spot and disapparated. They reappeared by a stream. The opposite bank was covered with soft green grass and they were surrounded by tall trees. Sunlight made its way through here and there, dappling the grass and sparkling on the running water. Small globes of sparkling yellow light floated around here and there. "You can take off the scarf now, Nev." Neville lifted the silvery scarf from his face and his eye widened in surprise. "Oh..oh my god! This is amazing! I can't believe- are those fairies?" "Mmm-hmm." Luna nodded, before leaping across the narrowest part of the wide stream. It was a fair stretch but she managed it easily, picnic basket swinging from her elbow. She set it on the ground, and with a wave of her wand everything flew from the basket neatly onto the checkered table cloth serving as a picnic blanket. Neville followed her across the stream, slightly clumsily. "I can't believe it!" he said adoringly. Luna hugged him tightly and sighed into his chest. "Happy birthday, Nev."_

The water was cooling down. Luna didn't care.

_"It's just perfect." "No it's not. I can tell you're lying Luna." Ginny shook her head. "What's wrong? I thought everything was amazing." "Everything __**was **__amazing." Luna's huge eyes were swimming with tears. "It's just, everything is moving so fast. And my dad's only just… you know… And I haven't done any of the things I said I would do. I wanted to travel the world, Gin. I wanted to meet people, I wanted to do everything. I wanted to get the perfect job, try out other ways of life. I've only been with one guy, Gin. What if he's not the guy for me? What if fate had something else planned for me, and I never gave it a chance to happen?" Ginny's big brown eyes stared into Luna's soul as she sobbed her eyes out into her shoulder._

Past the point of crying, Luna climbed out of the shower, curled up on the shower mat and allowed herself one last memory.

_Luna blinked down at the shiny ring in front of her. Her eyes filled with tears. "Will you make me the happiest man alive, Luna? Will you marry me?" Luna's head swam with missed chances and missed opportunities. One fat tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm so sorry Nev. I- I can't. I just can't." Luna turned and ran out of the room filled with flower petals._

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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**** I'm so sorry this has taken so long to upload, but it really, really didn't want to be written! I decided to sit down and have a good hard look at it after a reviewer gave me some really good feedback and finally got going with it again! So thank you to Witherwings01 :) After the wait, I hope you enjoy the chapter after all :') ~MaryLouise1996**

**DISCLAIMER: All belongs the The Great J.K. Rowling!**

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Last time: _"I'm so sorry Nev. I- I can't. I just can't." Luna turned and ran out of the room filled with flower petals."_

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Chapter 4

Luna looked around the little flat that had been her home for the last few months. Now cleared of her personal possessions, it didn't really look too different. It was a little more empty and a little less messy. Her old school chest that has resided in the living area was packed up and gone, along with her various rugs and blankets that had always been folded up on the old couch that was already present in the furnished flat. Her bedroom looked the most different, with a tidily made bed and empty wardrobe; the room had once been the most homely. It now looked colourless and bare, and it seemed strange that it should appear unchanged after so many months.

"Hey there. Are you ready to go?" Harry appeared from the bathroom. He had been helping her clear out her flat, moving everything either into storage or to his place. By a mere coincidence, they were both leaving London to go to Paris at the same time and were now travelling together. Luna was staying with Harry for a week and a half before leaving, since the lease on her flat had ended and there was no point renewing it for another month if she was only going to be there for a matter of days.

Nodding, Luna took Harry's arm and they sidelong-apparated to his apartment. She wasn't able to apparate herself the first time, due to the excessive number of wards and shields placed in the building to maintain Harry's privacy.

He'd grown into his looks since leaving Hogwarts. His chiseled face was complemented by a neat, stylish haircut, stubble on his jaw was the only thing that darkened his smooth skin and his bright green eyes were framed by the same shaped glasses that he had had all his life. He was tall and lean, and his muscles showed easily through his t-shirt. Luna could definitely see the appeal, but Harry was well and truly taken. Him and Ginny had barely left each other's sides since they had officially gotten back together straight after the Great War was over. That was the 2nd of May 1998. It was now the November of the year 2000 and they were still in their Honeymoon phase. It was quite sweet really. Although they didn't technically live together, Ginny spent nearly all her time at Harry's anyway which meant that Luna got to spend two weeks with her two best friends in the world.

As Luna and Harry reappeared in his flat, Ginny was just letting an owl in through the kitchen window. The flat was open plan, similar to Luna's but much bigger, and looked warm and cosy. At its core, everything was sleek and modern, but this had been disguised by bright colours, fluffy carpets and stripy blankets. It resembled The Burrow in more ways than one, Luna thought.

"Ooh Luna, it's for you!" Ginny called. Scurrying through into the spacious kitchen with shiny worktops and well-used pans, Luna took the parchment envelope that Ginny was holding out to her. Turning it over she looked curiously at the seal, but she didn't recognise it. Carefully ripping the envelope open, she slid the contents out of it. To her surprise, it contained a small piece of parchment with the Ministry of Magic's logo emblazoned on the top, and another envelope with her name written in a cursive that she knew all too well. Her hands shaking, she read the piece of parchment from the Ministry first.

_Miss Lovegood,_

_It has recently come to our attention that this correspondence has been held up in our regulation office through a fault in the system. Please accept our deepest apologies for any inconvenience caused._

_Kinds regards,_

_Stewart Appleby, Ministry Official._

Turning the second envelope over, she saw that it was dated _May 1__st__ 2000. _A silent tear rolled down Luna's cheek. She could feel both Ginny and Harry's eyes staring at her back. "Luna? Are you ok? What's wrong?" Ginny sounded concerned. Taking a shuddering breath and blinking her eyes to clear away the tears, Luna turned around to face them. "It's from him." she whispered. Her voice was barely audible. "What?" Ginny's voice was confused now. "He sent it the day before we broke up. It's only just got through; it was lost in the regulation office. _It's from the day before Ginny!" _Luna burst into tears and Ginny rushed over to hug her. In the process of maneuvering Luna past Harry and through to the sofa, Ginny raised her eyebrows in a way that said: _You make the tea, I'll summon the chocolate. _

The next day, Luna felt more positive again. Ginny had taken the letter from her, read it and told her that there was no vital information that she had needed to know the day she left Nev in a room filled with flower petals. It was Ginny's day off from training with the Holyhead Harpies and so Luna had called in to work and taken a day off. She deserved it, she'd worked all her days off for the last two months, simply through having nothing else to do. When Luna had woken up, Harry had already left for work in the Aurors office and so she and Ginny had decided on a girly day, like they used to have in Hogwarts. As they played music and dressed together, Luna felt a sense of peace settle over her that yesterday she had been sure she would never feel again.

Their shopping trip that day was a success. Ginny insisted on treating Luna to a new bikini for when she reached warm climates like Italy and Ibiza, and Luna herself bought some new clothes that she was going to need for the various places she was visiting, such as cool cotton clothing for visiting Egypt and a warm jacket for going to Sweden. They had ice cream sundaes in the new ice cream parlour and then cooked dinner and baked fairy cakes for dinner that night. Luna felt truly free for the first time in a long time and it was liberating for her.

Over the next two weeks Ginny and Luna spent a lot of time together, as they had used to. They grew close and talked late into the night and felt like teenagers again. Luna had forgotten how much she enjoyed spending time with her friend, and hadn't realized how much she had missed being around people. Luna also saw Hermione again, as well as many others who she wanted to connect with again before she went on her travels.

To her surprise, through her quick mind and many people's subtle hints, she learned that she had not been the only one to shut out her friends after she and Neville had broken up. Her friends hadn't heard from him in even longer than her. This troubled her, as she knew how much Neville had valued his friends and she felt that it was somehow down to her that he had made the decision to cut them from his life.

Luna departed for Paris with Harry a week before the end of November. From there on out, the next three months of her life were a whistle-stop tour of the world. She visited everywhere she had ever dreamed of going and learned things beyond her wildest dreams.

In Egypt she treated herself to a higher-end hotel, opposed to the little hostels that she had been choosing to hole up. In her spacious hotel room she spread out the pamphlets and pictures that she had collected throughout her trip and began organizing them into some form of order before she stuck them into a scrap book.

In Sweden she eventually came to the conclusion that the Crumple-Horned Snorcack was in fact a myth. It felt like letting an old friend go, but there's only so long you can spend researching and hunting for a creature that you are the only person to believe in before you stop kidding yourself.

In France she took part in a reenactment of the ways witches and wizards were burnt at the stake and escaped with a slightly singed eyebrow after she lost concentration for half a second when she believed she saw a Blibbering Humdinger.

While she was travelling, Luna made sure to keep in contact with the friends she had left behind. Although initially the trip had been a way of distancing herself from them even more, she found that in the weeks she spent catching up with everyone she had become attached and she wasn't willing to throw it away again. She sent moving postcards regularly and, when she had time, long letters filled with anecdotes and stories from her trip. She received return correspondence less regularly since she moved so regularly but Hermione and Ginny had both managed so far to get one step ahead of her travelling and on two occasions she had arrived at a destination to find a letter from one of them waiting for her.

As she arrived in Ibiza, one of her more carefree destinations, she looked out over the crystal clear sea at the setting sun and felt herself slip into an even deeper sense of peace at her surroundings. Streaks of orange and pink and the palest of blues lit up the sky as fluffy, barely-there clouds skidded across it and the water moved with a life of its own, dancing and twinkling at her like a thousand diamonds. Luna was glad she would be spending longer here, perhaps a month or so because the pile of money she had set out with was dwindling and she needed to get a temporary job to replenish her bank account.

Sitting on the golden sand, Luna kicked off her flowery sandals and smoothed out her floaty sundress before lying down in her secluded corner of the beach and falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**I can't tell you for sure when the next chapter will be up... Sometime over the Christmas period I presume, as I have mock exams until I break up! As always, please review! Virtual mince pies to everyone who does!**


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